Mealtime Adventures

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a good meal will generate a hundred stories. Behind every mealtime lies opportunity. An opportunity to reward yourself with something you create, to share a gift and great conversation, to have a laugh during clean-up. Cooking is not a chore, it is a journey.

Food only recently made a transition from a necessary daily routine to an enjoyable expedition. Starting in the summer of 2009 my grandmother decided that I could cook dinners on Friday nights. Never one to back down from a challenge, and always enjoying winning, I decided to prepare a stunning dish. Teriyaki chicken with a homemade glaze, cantaloupe, and fried rice was prepared. The entire process was something to remember. Brainstorming up what I was going to cook was fun, thinking about everything I would need and ways to get it cheaper than buying store bought. Homemade teriyaki sauce is not only more delicious than store bought, but it is also much cheaper and can usually be made with things you already have in your pantry. Shopping in of itself was another adventure. Going to the grocery store and stealing free samples, grabbing the things we needed for our list and then other things we didn’t really need, but thought would make for a great snack. The time spent away from the computer and with the people loved was priceless, but there were also days that I might have forgotten to design a recipe. Those were the best.

One of the best meals I have designed still has no name. It was six thirty and I was on my laptop writing up an invoice for the lab assistant labor I had been doing two weeks previous. My grandmother walked in and asked if I was ready to prepare dinner. I had forgotten. I told her that I was totally prepared and whisked myself into the kitchen, looking for anything that would give me an edge. We had boneless chicken breast in the fridge that Grandma had set out the previous evening to defrost, almost as if she was anticipating my ineptitude. It was a start. Wheat rolls on the counter, cantaloupe in the fridge (I really love cantaloupe), cumin and curry on the spice rack and Campbell’s Tomato Soup in hand my meal for the evening had formed. I thickened the tomato soup with some milk and added a little bit of pepper, a little bit of curry, and a decent stock of cumin. I used this new “Red Sauce” to cover the tenderized chicken, and I let it set in for about an hour, after which I baked it on high for fifteen minutes. I boiled some green beans as the vegetable, because there was nothing else, and put the cantaloupe and wheat rolls on the side. The meal was a success, and I had another story to tell.

While preparation is exciting and allows an excuse to get out of the house a bit, the best part of any meal is the dining. A family or friends gathered around a table to share the highlights of their day is a great way to settle down after rushing around to prepare a meal. Not only that, but time to eat also means time for everyone to compliment your food! Better than words could ever express are the looks on a hungry person’s face whose taste buds had just been overloaded with savory flavors of meats and spices. The dinner table is a time to share in accomplishments, and in defeat. After all, not all of your meals will be delicious.

My greatest failure was and still is Pizza. Not because of the sauce, because I make a delectable pizza sauce with any base. Not because of the ingredients, I can put together a concoction of vegetables, fruits, and meats that will make each of your five tastes sing. Not because of the lack of will, for I have tried and failed many times. The pizza dough just won’t ever flatten and cook correctly! I don’t know if I am using too little flour, too much olive oil, the wrong type of dish to cook on, or if perhaps I just wasn’t meant to be ruining the Italian’s masterpiece with my personal touch. Regardless, it always makes for great lasagna when rolled over on itself, and an even better laugh.

The last leg of the expedition that is meal time is the part that the most daring of adventurer usually shies from. Clean-up time. While most people may not enjoy doing the dishes, there are a lot of aspect that can be entertaining. For example, who can resist wrapping a rubber band around the handle of the sprayer connected to the sink, and aiming it at the location where a future dishwasher might stand? When more than one person does the dishes it can be a party! Try setting up different stations (cleaning, rinsing, drying, etc.) and tossing the dishes to each setting. If doing the dishes still isn’t your thing, the chore in of itself makes a great bid for a game of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker.

DISCLAIMER: Tossing ceramic or glass plates or rare china is not endorsed by Gourmet or any of its affiliates.

It is time for you to make some of your own stories. This Friday, try to brainstorm a new recipe. Take a friend shopping. Try some flavors you wouldn’t normally. Or just wait and “wing it” half an hour before dinner! Invite a bunch of people over for an amazing meal or an amazing laugh, whichever the case turns out to be. Play a round of cards to determine who does the dinner, or do them all together! Why just eat a meal when you can go on a fantastic journey with family or friends? My thoughts towards food and eating have changed dramatically over the past couple of months and have given me another creative outlet to explore with family and friends. I hope you, the reader, will be able to learn to enjoy cooking as much as I do.

(Dishwasher picture freeware; Microsoft Word 2007 ClipArt.)